L.A. County might close its 19 youth "day camps" because of state budget cuts. A day camp is not a boot camp or a summer camp—it’s a type of jail where youth serve time after they’re convicted of a crime. It’s worse than being on house arrest or being in a group home placement, but not as bad as being in the California Youth Authority, the youth prisons where more serious offenders are housed.

L.A. Youth asked nine teens who had been in the camps: Should the camps be shut down? They said no. Even though they felt the camps didn’t help them, the camps were safer and less strict than a youth prison or juvenile hall.

By M.N., 16-year-old female from the San Gabriel Valley

What did you do that first got you into the juvenile justice system?
When I was 12, I was harassed by the police for doing what I loved most, skateboarding and being Mexican. I got a ticket for skateboarding on the sidewalk. At age 14 I was arrested for possession of a gun, methamphetamines possession, evading police and giving false information.

Have you ever spent time in the day camps?
Yes. I spent seven months at Camp Joseph Scott in Saugus.

What was your experience like in the day camps?
I had horrible experiences. I hated it. It got me more angry and it didn’t help me with anything. It actually taught me to be a better criminal. My experiences were really bad. Like take this for example. Nine p.m. in the dorm (where all the girls sleep) was "off the hook." Girls were being loud, gang-banging. Some of us were trying to sleep. The staff lined us up, made us put on our boots and just our nightgowns. We went outside and all of us marched around the track. Then we had to stop, do 100 jumping jacks, then march again. We did this like five times around the track. Then we went back inside. We were all cold. I was mad. There weren’t a lot of positive things. I can actually count them on my fingers. They had mentors. My mentor helped me a lot. There was church every Sunday.

Do you think the day camps should be closed?
No, because camps are one step away from Y.A. [California Youth Authority, the youth prisons]. And if they do, then everybody, like me, would go to Y.A.

What are your future goals?
To go to college and do something with animals ’cause I wanna make a difference in their life.

Do you consider yourself a bad kid?
No, I don’t consider myself a "bad kid." I consider myself misunderstood and unique in my own ways. I just have to follow the "laws."

By K.J., 16-year-old male from Compton

What did you do that first got you into the juvenile justice system?
I went outside one day and I saw my homies. I walked over to them, and all of a sudden the cops pulled up and arrested us and took us to the station. That’s where I learned that my homies had robbed two people that day. They still had all the stuff in their bags. Even though I wasn’t even there, I was charged with robbery with a deadly weapon.

Have you ever spent time in the day camps?
Camp Miller [in Malibu] for four months.

What was your experience like in the day camps?
I was treated bad. Some people showed me love, but most of them didn’t.

Do you think the day camps should be closed?
No. If there was no camps, I would’ve gone to Y.A. I heard that they are raping people, killing people in the Y.A. At least they don’t kill nobody in the camps.

What are your future goals?
To stay out of jail, get on with my life, get a job.

Do you consider yourself a bad kid?
No, I’m just a kid that made a bad mistake and got busted. People who do crimes that don’t get busted are labeled good so I’m not bad. I’m like everyone else.

By D.C., 17-year-old male from Los Angeles

What did you do that first got you into the juvenile justice system?
Possession of a firearm.

Have you ever spent time in the day camps?

I was at Camp Holton [in San Fernando] for four months, then at Camp Smith [in Lancaster] for four months, then Camp Paige [in La Verne] for nine months.

What was your experience like in the day camps?

It was very boring and it does not teach you anything. It is just stressful and a waste of time because nobody seems to care and a lot of people get blamed for things they didn’t do.

Do you think the day camps should be closed?

No, because more kids will go to prison or Y.A.

What are your future goals?

To graduate from high school and go to college.

Do you consider yourself a bad kid?

No, I do not consider myself a bad kid. I just hang around bad people.

By D.U., 17-year-old male from South Central

What did you do that first got you into the juvenile justice system?

Making a terrorist threat when I was 12. I told my momma I was gonna kill her.

Stressing. I was thinking about going home. The people around you mess up and it makes the program go slower. There’s stupid kids in camp. They’re always playing, always talking mess to a person way bigger than them when they know the staff is right there. In order for them to get right the staff takes it out on us.

It was never boring. You wake up at 6:45, make your heads calls that last till 7:45. Then we’ll go eat breakfast. From then on until the time to go to school we kick it, watch TV or something. School was cool because you can do anything you want, the computer, the Internet. Then we go back to the unit and just kick it. It’s a privilege to do a chore, to clean the hallway or something. You get extra points on the merit ladder. There are 51 people and the top 10 get the jobs. The RL (run leader) runs the whole dorm. The XO (executive officer) is second down from the RL. The UL is the unit leader. The QM (quarter master) takes care of clothes. There’s also four KPs (kitchen person), two dorm orderlies (DO) which switch off every week and get to stay up until 10 o’clock, and one librarian. I had all these jobs. It took me a while though. In camp all I’d do was fight and fight with enemies, people talking stuff.

Do you think the day camps should be closed?

Yes, so instead of going to camp, they’d go to placements first. In placements you have better privileges, like you get to wear your own clothes just like at home.

What are your future goals?

Go to college.

Do you consider yourself a bad kid?

Yep, I’m dangerous.

By M.C., 17-year-old female from South Central

What did you do that first got you into the juvenile justice system?

I was with my friends and they had a stolen car and we all went to jail. I was just riding in it.

Have you ever spent time in the day camps?

I was at Camp Scott [in Saugus] for six months.

What was your experience like in the day camps?

It was weird because I wasn’t used to dealing with the structure and discipline.

Do you think the day camps should be closed?

In a way yeah, but in a way I don’t because then once we get locked up we would go straight to CYA.

What are your future goals?

Work and get my life together and make myself proud and my family too.

Do you consider yourself a bad kid?

In a way I do because people put me down a lot. But then again I actually think I’m a person that’s kind of sweet and generous.

By R.A., 17-year-old female from the San Fernando Valley

What did you do that first got you into the juvenile justice system?

Driving without owner’s consent at age 13 (I borrowed my mom’s car).

Have you ever spent time in the day camps?

Yes, Camp Onizuka [in Lancaster] for two months.

What was your experience like in the day camps?

It was really bad. I wasn’t really ready to change so I made it my interest to break all the rules and get kicked out. They made us wake up so early. If we were bad the day before they would wake us up like at 4:30 in the morning to go marching around the facility. The worst part for me was having the other minors telling you what to do. They would have what we call XO’s and RL’s, meaning they were the minors who were in charge, kind of like the staff. The regular staff were just kind of like their backup.

Do you think the day camps should be closed?

In a way I do and in a way I don’t. I feel they should because they really don’t help youth, but then again I do because they would only have two places to send troubled youth, Juvenile Hall or CYA.

What are your future goals?

I plan to get certified as a cosmetologist and open a beauty shop.

Do you consider yourself a bad kid?

No, I consider myself a child that needed help to bloom into the beautiful person that I know I am.

By W.C., 17-year-old male from South Central and the Westside

What did you do that first got you into the juvenile justice system?

Armed robbery.

Have you ever spent time in the day camps?

I was in Camp Scobee [in Lancaster] for nine months and Camp Rockey [in San Dimas] for 11 months.

What was your experience like in the day camps?

It was bad because I couldn’t do anything to better myself because I gang-banging.

Do you think the day camps should be closed?

I don’t think they should be closed because then the only decision a judge could make for a delinquent would be Y.A.

What are your future goals?

To try and go to school and get some type of career.

Do you consider yourself a bad kid?

No, because I know what kind of person I am.

By R.C., 18-year-old male from South Central

What did you do that first got you into the juvenile justice system?

Shoplifting.

Have you ever spent time in the day camps?

Camp John Munz in Lake Hughes for four months.

What was your experience like in the day camps?

Horrible. There’s not enough individual attention. You don’t get acknowledged from staff. You’ve got to be a mess-up to get any kind of attention. It should be the other way around.